Page 49 of Falling for the Grump Billionaire

She’s right. I grab the folder and follow her toward the exit. As we step outside, the cold air bites against my skin, and I scan the street for anything out of place. My instincts are screaming, the paranoia I’ve spent years honing now a full-blown siren in my head.

“We’ll take my car,” I say, steering Eva toward the sleek black sedan parked a few spaces away.

She doesn’t argue, sliding into the passenger seat as I settle behind the wheel. I start the engine, the low hum grounding me as I pull out onto the street.

“Where are we going?” she asks after a few moments of tense silence.

“To the penthouse,” I reply. “It’s the safest place to regroup.”

She doesn’t argue, but I can feel her unease radiating off her. As the city blurs past, I can’t help but glance at her out of the corner of my eye. Her hands are clenched in her lap, her breathing shallow.

“This is more than you signed up for,” I say quietly, breaking the silence.

She snorts, though there’s no humor in it. “You keep saying that like it’s supposed to scare me off.”

“I’m not trying to scare you,” I admit. “But this isn’t just a story, Eva. It’s dangerous.”

“I know that,” she says, turning to look at me. “But I’m not walking away. I’ve spent too much of my life running from things that scared me. Not this time.”

Her words hit harder than I want to admit. There’s a strength in her that both frustrates and inspires me.

By the time we reach the penthouse, night has fallen, casting the city in a sea of lights. The tension between us hasn’t eased, but there’s a quiet understanding now—a shared determination to face whatever comes next.

I set the folder on the dining table and turn to Eva. “We need to go through this line by line,” I say. “If there’s a way to dismantle their narrative, we’ll find it here.”

She nods, already pulling out her laptop. “I’ll cross-reference the accounts with known shell companies. If we can find even one link to Mercer, it’ll be enough to cast doubt.”

I watch her work for a moment, her focus razor-sharp. It’s a side of her I’ve come to respect, even admire. But admiration won’t keep her safe.

“Eva,” I say, my tone softening. “About earlier—”

She cuts me off without looking up. “Save it, Dominic. We don’t have time for apologies.”

“I wasn’t going to apologize,” I say, a hint of a smirk tugging at my lips despite the tension. “I was going to say thank you.”

That gets her attention. She looks up, her brows furrowing in confusion. “For what?”

“For being stubborn,” I admit. “For not backing down, even when you should.”

Her lips twitch, but she quickly schools her expression. “Don’t get used to it,” she mutters, turning back to her laptop.

The hours tick by as we dig deeper into the folder’s contents. The more we uncover, the clearer the picture becomes: Conrad was the inside man, feeding Mercer information while setting me up to take the fall. But the scope of the operation is bigger than I anticipated.

“This isn’t just about Kane Enterprises,” Eva says, her voice cutting through my thoughts. “They’re targeting you personally. They want to dismantle everything you’ve built—and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire.”

I nod, my jaw tightening. “Then we make them care.”

She looks at me, her green eyes blazing with determination. “What’s the plan?”

I lean back in my chair, the wheels turning in my head. “We leak the truth,” I say after a moment. “Expose Conrad and Mercer for what they are before they can solidify their narrative.”

“And how do we do that without it blowing back on us?” she asks.

I meet her gaze, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “We’ll find a way.”

The first rays of dawn creep through the windows, casting a pale light over the penthouse. Eva is dozing on the couch, her laptop balanced precariously on her knees. I’ve spent the past hour refining our plan, the pieces slowly falling into place.

As I watch her sleep, a rare moment of quiet settles over me. For all her fire and stubbornness, Eva has a vulnerability she tries tohide. It’s that vulnerability that draws me to her, even as I try to push her away.

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